The PR industry is contstantly challenged on how it measures results. Because what we do, building reputations, is hard to measure we are constantly asked to quantify our clients' return on their investment. This is at the forefront of my mind when proposing any campaign for a client - how can we measure our success?
So this weekend I was invited by a friend of mine, a hugely respected business leader in the creative services industry, to join him on a trip to Aintree for the Grand National on the Orient Express. Of course I jumped at the chance not only because it would be a great day out but also because it would be an excellent chance to network.
On the way back I was curious to know what sort of business return Mark thought he would get out of such an exercise. He simply said that in this case he wasn't looking for a direct return - "I just thought I would bring a few interesting people together and see what comes out of the mix".
This got me thinking how clever that was. All the people that he brought together may well end up doing some sort of business together and at least network a little further and that will come back full circle to Mark's company. A bit like a master chef by changing the mix, bringing together a different group of people, he was creating another recipe. That recipe may or may not be successful but its creation was itself a success to Mark.
Sometimes we have to challenge our beliefs on what is the measure of success. Certainly a lot of the work I have done with clients you couldn't quantify in terms of coverage or click throughs and has often been slow-burning.
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